Two Guilty Pleas in Cecilia Gentili Fentanyl-Related Death
Two New York men pleaded guilty to possessing and selling the transgender activist fentanyl-laced heroin, which caused her death.
Two New York men have pleaded guilty in federal court to selling Cecilia Gentili the fentanyl-laced heroin that caused her death.
Appearing in court on Monday, Sept. 23, one of the men, Michael Kuilan, 44, pleaded guilty to charges of possessing and distributing heroin and fentanyl, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
He also pleaded guilty to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The second man, Antonio Venti, 52, previously pleaded guilty to the same offenses in July, just three months after he and Kuilan were indicted together.
As part of their plea agreements, Kuilan and Venti agreed that they caused the a prominent transgender activist’s death.
Gentili was found dead in her bedroom in Brooklyn on Feb. 6, 2024. An autopsy later revealed that she had died due to the combined effect of controlled substances, including fentanyl, the veterinary sedative xylazine, cocaine, and heroin.
Text messages, along with cell site data and other evidence linked Venti to Gentili, revealing that he had sold heroin mixed with fentanyl to Gentili on the day prior to her death, and that Kuilan had supplied Venti with the laced drugs.
Law enforcement also searched an apartment in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood belonging to Kuilan, at which point they discovered hundreds of baggies of fentanyl, as well as a handgun and ammunition.
Kuilan is scheduled to be sentenced in January and could face a possible prison sentence of 27 years. Veti is scheduled to be sentenced in October, and could face 17 years in prison.
“The perpetrators of the tragic poisoning of Cecilia Gentili, a prominent leader of the New York transgender community, have now both admitted their guilt in selling the lethal drugs that have caused this heartbreaking death,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, of the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.
“These drugs, heroin and fentanyl, have caused so much pain throughout our community,” Peace added. “I hope this case will bring a sense of closure to Gentili’s family and serve as a warning that this Office will be relentless in holding fentanyl dealers accountable.”
“The resolution of this case should serve as a warning to those who seek to profit from the distribution of fentanyl-laced drugs in our communities,” Interim NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon said in a statement. “Dedicated investigators from all levels of government are working together every day to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals involved in these heinous crimes.”
Howard Greenberg, a lawyer for Kuilan, told the Times that his client did not know that the heroin he sold contained fentanyl. “But that does not legally or morally absolve him of what he in fact did,” Greenberg said.
Joseph Turco, a lawyer for Venti, told the Times that his client had been “crippled” by remorse after Gentili’s death, noting that Venti and Gentili had been friends for over a decade.
“I don’t think Cecilia would want him incarcerated,” Turco said. “He is no killer and he is no drug dealer. But I can’t pretend to know what Cecilia would want.”
Gentili was 52 at the time of her death. She came to the U.S. from Argentina as an undocumented immigrant at age 26.
She endured homelessness, struggled with drug addiction, was trafficked for prostitution, and was arrested several times before being incarcerated at Rikers Island. After her release, she spent 17 months in a substance abuse rehabilitation facility and claimed to have remained sober for many years.
Gentili became a well-known and much-beloved figure in New York’s LGBTQ community, not only appearing on the television show Pose but advocating on behalf of transgender people, people living with HIV, and sex workers. At the time of her death, she was lobbying state lawmakers in the hope of decriminalizing sex work in New York.
Gentili’s funeral was held at the iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, with more than 1,000 people, including celebrities and prominent LGBTQ activists, in attendance. It sparked the ire of social conservatives after media shared reports of a boisterous atmosphere at the funeral, irreverent eulogies laced with vulgarities, including referring to Gentili as a “whore,” and the ostentatious outfits worn by mourners.
The New York Archdiocese condemned the funeral and the “scandalous behavior” of funeral attendees. The Very Rev. Enrique Salvo, the pastor of St. Patrick’s, claimed not to have known that Gentili was transgender, and accused funeral organizers of deceiving St. Patrick’s by misrepresenting both the nature of the funeral and Gentili’s religious beliefs.
Gentili had been raised Catholic but reportedly identified as an atheist at the time of her death and was not known to attend church on a regular basis — meaning she would not have been considered to be in good standing with the Church.
Catholic Church officials later held a Mass of Reparation, a specific liturgical celebration conducted to make amends with God and “purify” the church following actions considered to have defiled a holy space.
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